Manny Campos talks about family inspiration

Manny Campos, GEICO's auto damage director in Arizona, spent the majority of his childhood growing up in southern California. His family moved frequently following his dad's work as a property manager. While in elementary school, Campos completed each grade in a different district before his family put down roots in 1994 in Tucson, where Campos calls home. However difficult at the time, Campos now considers his transient childhood as a blessing because he is able to quickly adapt to different environments – personally and professionally.

Celebrating Hispanic/Latino Heritage month is unique for him. "Even though we celebrate typical Mexican traditions," Campos says, "My parents focused on finding balance between our family's heritage and the new traditions we were creating for ourselves." Having an extended family made up of friends, neighbors and their community was a way for his small family to remain a part of a "village" of sorts, for which Campos is grateful.

His parents are his greatest inspiration. Their willingness to put their children's future and wellbeing above everything else is something he says he can never repay them for. Similarly, his wife, Liza, and his daughters, Chole and Averi, are his sources of drive and motivation. After being laid off by Citi Bank in 2010, Campos stumbled upon GEICO and considers himself fortunate for how things worked out.

"GEICO has allowed me to provide opportunities for them that I would not have been able to otherwise," Campos said. "Most notably, the ability to provide them with experiences, exposures to different cultures, people and issues to make them more well-rounded and caring individuals."

The challenges of finding balance between what a GEICO leader should be, and his family's needs have changed over the years as his career and family have grown. Still, Campos maintains that working hard, remaining humble, communicating a do-what-you-say-you'll-do attitude with a people-first approach, is working fine.